Electrical weft detector and shuttle therefor



March 5, 1935. G. TURNER ELECTRICAL wEFT DETECTOR AND 'SHUTTLE THEREFORFiled Jan; 1935 Patented Mar. 5, 1935 pare-Nr OFFICE ELECTRICAL WEFTDETECTOR :AND

SHUTTLE THEREFOR.

Richard Greenleaf Turner, Worcester, Mass., as-

signor tf1-Crompton & Knowles-Loom Works,

Worcester, Mass., a chusetts Application January 26,

k Claims;

Thisinvention relatesto improvements in electricalweit-detectors. andshuttles for- Weitl replenishingiloorns and itis the7 general object oftheginvention to provide adurable .shuttle ef- 512 fective uponexhaustion of weft to'com-plete a.

loom fcontrollingeeleotriccircuitthrough the` detecter /ngersswhichareYexternal :to the shuttle. Shuttlescf-the electrical indicating'typehave ordinarily? employed a pair: of contact plates- `10mounted?onthefront wallof the shuttle'to enfgagebrushl or. sliding.VYcontacts carried" byV the shuttle box. Several il-lterconnectedgparts`are carried within the shuttle Vto constitute'` a-v circuits-having"itsfterminals: attached tothe plates 1&1 The' constantjarringfincidentto the abrupt Vstopping;l oir the shuttlefv loosens andbreaks thesef parts; so -thatithey provide -poorcontactwitlrresultant-misindi-cation. Itfis an importantobject of;inw-present: inventionx to provide a shuttle'- 20s whichihas alcircuit'-closer or contact platenormall'y in .non-indicatingiposition, butVmovable at' exhaustionv off-weft to aposition where itjcanv electricallyconnect oppositeipoles of anindicate ingvcircuit-allfoffwhich, exceptthecloser; is-jloe cated:extericrly`r` of ,fthe shuttle. By fthe use of'myY improved shuttles-current is not f required to flow'throughany-joint or, mechanical connection;

carried permanentlyv by the shuttle.

Itfis-xa. furtherobject ofmy\inventon to proe vide ell-'slnlttlel soconstructed :thatf the aioresaid Contact plate can .begivenafrelatively-'large motion"A atthe timev off. weftexhaustion, therebyavoiding the `necessity for setting parts forl closel operation:

Itis anotherfobject'of my invention to 'provide the lever-which,car1iesthe'contact-platel with n stops to limit the--movementfot the platetoward- A indicating position. .These stopsare madeeffec-` tiva-tomoveftheyarnengagingdetecting part 40e of ntheV levert out ofthe YpathLof movement of l the weftcarrienwhen the. spindle isiiraised toreceive4 a. fresh supply .I of weft.

It isfanother object Otmyinventionto provide.

alstonfor at kleast `one of .the electrodes external 457-; to 1theshuttldsaid stops` being positioned to en gagetlie shuttle regardless ofthe vertical position ofthe latter. inthe shuttle box and thus preventclosing of the circuit until the contact plate has reached'apredetermined'position.V In this 501' wayy the detector is enabled tooperate properly even though the shuttle be misplaced.`

In connection with my improved `shuttle Iemploy1 a form of detectorhaving two electrodes which 55T in' any approved manner after theshuttle is.

are; ab'ovefthe shuttle and 'aremoved down corporation of l Massa- 1933,serial No. 653,642v

carries asmall amount ofoilwhichfcannot be` removed'fronithe'fabricsovthat the latter. is permanentlvl injured.' With my improved shuttle,on the other hand, no opportunity arises fory the formationof .the gritor dirt, and asa resulta higher grade ofcloth can be woven.

,y It is a further important objectof myinven tion to provide theshuttle with fmeans for holdingA the indicator in indicating position.'YIn order to minimize the strain on the. yarn the', spring whicntends tomove the-indicating ele' ment to indicating position is preferablymadeaslight as isv consistent with reliable; operation. As a result of thisvconstruction there is aychance that the detecting ngers Ymay lnot havea suiie cientlyi heavy contact with theindicator to establish a propercircuit; In orderlthat the'light` positiveness fof indication I' providea.v holding. device which is normally ineiective to restrain 1 movementyofthe indicator and is held in nonlocking position by the latter whenyarnispresent; Atl substantial exhaustion, however, the weak springwhich exertsv itsV pressure against the yarnis sufficiently strong tomoveLthe indicator or contact plate to a positionwhere the lock maybecomeV effective to holdithe ContactV plate againstthe downwardpressure of the detesting' element. The latter may therefore ex# crtsuicient pressure to-.establish good contact; With these and otherobjects in view which wilLappear as the description proceeds, my in-yvention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts hereinafterdescribed and set forthv Y in the claims. f ,j

In the accompanying drawing, where aconvenient -embodimentof `myinvention is set forth,

Fig. l is a top plan view of a shuttle rnade according to my presentinvention,

Fig..2 is a vertical section on line 1,' showing the contact plate intwo positions,

Fig. 3 isa transverse vertical section on line 3-3 of Fig. 2 showing*the detector parts in detecting non-indicating position,

Fig; 4 is a diagrammatic view similar to' Fig'. 3 but showing the partsin detecting position when a suicient supply of weft is present,

Fig. 5 isa'viewvsimilar to aiportion ofelig.Y 2

v trodes 40 and 41.

with the spindle raised and the detector retracted,

Fig. 6 is a top plan View of the shuttle box and detector,

Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic view showing how the lay motion is used to movethe detector toward the shuttle, and

Fig. 8 is a view showing the Contact plate locking means.

Referring to the drawing, I have shown a shuttle 10 which preferably maybe adapted for silk weaving by a coating of iiber or like material 11,although this feature is not necessary. A transverse pin l2 forms thepivot ,of a spindle 13 having a vertical slot 14. The pin 12 extendsthrough the wooden body 15 of the shuttle and may be held in position inany approved manner. The weft carrier 16 may be of metal and has a head17 to coact with claws 18 on tlie'shuttle to hold the carrier againstlongitudinal and angular motion relatively to the spindle.

Pivoted to the spindle at 2) and extending within the slot 14 is adetector lever 21 having a rounded smooth upwardly extending detectingsurface 22 designed to project through a slot 23 in the carrier 16.right hand end of said lever is curved upwardly and has mounted thereona circuit cioser er contact plate 24 which, as shown in Fig. l, isprovided with a substantially long contact face 25 from the sides ofwhich extend stop wings 26. A relatively weak coil spring 27 isinterposed between the bottom of the contact plate and the spindle, andmay be received in a pocket 28 in the spindleL The upper ber vplate ofthe shuttle prefer-Y ably extends over the stop wings 26 as at 30 andserves to limit upward movement ofthe contact plate under influence ofthe spring. The top fiber plate is also provided with an opening 31 torenderv the Contact surface 25 accessible from above thev shuttle. I donot wish to be limited to any particular form of weft carrier or meansfor holding the same in the shuttle, inasmuch as it is sufficient forthe operation of my present invention if the slot 23 is held inalignment with the detector surface 22 of the lever when the spindle isin normal lowered position.

The shuttle coacts with a pair of yieldable' detector ngers orelectrodes 40 and 41, respectively, `each of which is formed as part ofa ring 42 secured to a support 43 of insulating material rotatablymounted on a supporting stud 44. Thelatter is held in a small stand 45secured to the box back 46 of the loom. Interposed between the stud andthe support 48 is a relatively light torsion spring 47 the eiTect ofwhich is to move the electrode 41 down toward the top of the shuttle. Acollar 48- fixed to the opposite end of the stud receives one end ofanother light torsion sping 49 which is connected to the support 50 withthe other electrode 40 tending to move the latter in the same directionas electrode 41. Collector brushes 51'and 52 contact respectively withthe rings of elec- These brushes are mounted on an insulating base 53carried by the lay and have electrical connection with mechanism notshown to effect a change in loom operation whenever said brushes areelectrically connected by the plate 24 at substantial exhaustion oiweft.

As shown in Fig. 7 the lay L moves about the forward pivot and there isprovided a rear pivot lxed with respect to the loom and hav- As viewedin Fig. 2 the Y ing mounted thereon an upwardly extending rod 62 whichslides through a guide bearing 63 carried by and extending rearwardlyfrom the lay. 'Iheupper end of this guide has a head 64 which extendslaterally on each side of the rod 62 for engagement respectively withactuator arms 65 and 66 which are connected to the rings of electrodes40 and 41, respectively. There is a sufficient space between the pivots66 and 61 so that as the lay moves forwardly the cross head will have arelatively downward movement with respect to the lay and when the lattermoves rearwardly the movement will be upward.

The head is so formed as to rock the electrodes in a clockwise directionas viewed in Fig. 3 when the lay moves backwardly, thereby raising theforward ends of the electrodes to keep them out of the path of theshuttle. On the forward beat of the lay, however, the relative downwardmovement of the head will move the latter away from the actuator arms sothat the springs 47 and 49 will move said arms downwardly after theshuttle is boxed. The top 'l0 of the head 64 will act as a stop for thearms 65 and 66 when no shuttle is present.

While I have shown a particular means for providing two electrodes whichare each yieldingly movable toward the plate 24 when the lay is in frontposition and retracted or elevated to non-detecting position prior topick of the shuttle, yet I do not wish to be limited to the particularmechanism shown. f l

In order to 'prevent closure of the electric circuit while the plateY 24is in low position I provide at least one of the electrodes, 41 asshownherein, with a heel which is placed so that it will engage the top oftheshuttle and limit downward movement of the associated electrode. Theother electrode may be similarly provided with a stop, but this is notessential, since the holding of either electrode away from the'plate.will be suflicient toprevent contact when the plate is in low position.

Located on each side of the detector lever is a resilient stop orsupport secured by screw 8l to a vertical wall 82 in theV shuttle.Normally these supports are in the full line position, Fig. 8, lyingagainst the wings 26.

In operation, as the lay moves vforwardly with the shuttle on thedetecting side of the loom the cross head will move out of controlposition with respect to the actuator arms and the springs 47 and 49vwill move the electrodes downl so that the ends of the latter will enterthe slot 31 and move toward the top of the plate 25. If suiiicient weftfor continued weaving be present in the shuttle the detector arm 22 willbe held down andthe contact surface 25 will be located below the bottomof electrode 41. It will therefore be impossible to close the detectorcircuit and the loom will continue to run@ When weft is absent,lhowever, except for/the bunch 5G, the detector surface 22 will no longerbe restrained against upward movement under action of the yspring 2'7,and thecontact surface will be raised as shown in dotted lines, Fig. 8,until the wings 26 engage the plate forming the top of the shuttle. The`yielding supports 80 will then spring to the dotted line position ofFig. 8. under the wings 26 to support the contact plate against downwardpressure. Under these conditions, as the shuttle moves forwardly, thebottom of both electrodes will strike the contact plate to establishelectrical connection between the cuit can be closed when the contactplate isA raised. f

When the shuttle is to be replenished it is removedrfrlom the loom andthe spindle elevated to the position suggested in Fig. 5 the effect ofwhich is to cause the wings 26 to be 'depressed against the action ofthe spring 27 by `the overhang-ing parts 30 of the top of the shuttle. A

lreference to Figs. 1 and 2 'Will show that' said wings varelongitudinally spaced relatively to the spindle from the pivot of thelat or sufficiently so that when said spindle is raised there is ladownward movement of Vvthe contact surface 22 to permit the sliding androtation of the carrier 16 on the spindle.

- The placing of a fresh weft supply on the spindle depresses thedetector plate, so that when the spindle is lowered, the contact platereturns tov/ard the springs v8() in low enough position to strike saidsprings laterally and move them to the normal full line position shownin Fig. 8. f

From the foregoing it Will be seen that I have provided a form ofshuttle and electric detector wherein that part of the detecting circuitwhich lies within the shuttle is very short rand comprises a singlemember to have engagement with the two electrodes.` By this arrangementof Wires, binding posts and other forms of jointed circuit forming partswhich have heretofore been employed areeliminated. Furthermore, thedetector surface which engages these electrodes is on the top of theshuttle where it can never have contact with the binder or box back andassurance is therefore given that the grit and dirt which is a source oftrouble Where contact plates are located on the front and back Walls ofthe shuttle will not be present in the shuttles shown herein. Althoughthe part which gives indication to the external circuit moves in orderto Y have direct contact with the electrodes, yet such moving part islocated well within the outline of the shuttle and is therefore keptaway from the threads of the top shed when the shuttle is in ilight. Itwill be further noted that the springs 80 act to support or lock thecontact plate in indicating position, so that spring 27 may be verylight to prevent chang of the weft.

Having thus described my invention it Will be seen that changes andmodifications may be made therein by those skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention and I do not wishto be limited to the details herein disclosed, but what I claim is:

1. In a loom, a shuttle having a supply of weft, a pair of oppositelycharged electric detector electrodes separate from the shuttle to beconnected to effect a change in loom operation, a shuttle carriedcontact member for the electrodes held out of contacting relation withthe electrodes when sufficient weft is present and movable relative tothe shuttle upon exhaustion of weft to a position to electricallyconnect said electrodes, by direct engagement therewith, the

electrodes mounted to bev movable toward and from the contact member,and a stop to limit relative'smovement of the contact member toward theelectrodes.

v2. Ina loom, a weft detecting shuttle, a pair of oppositely chargeddetecting electrodes, said shuttle having a spindle, a leverpivoted tothe spindle, a contact member carried by the lever, the shuttle havingan opening to expose the contact member and render the latter accessiblefrom without :the shuttle, a yarn engaging weft detector on the lever,'and means to move the contact member toward the electrodes, a sufcientamount of weft for continued Weaving engaging the weft detector toprevent such movement, and said means effective to move the contactingmember into engaging position relatively to the electrodes at exhaustionof weft.

3.1 In an electrically roperating weftdetecting shuttle, a contactmember located-Within the outlineVv of the shuttle and normally held bya sufficient supply of weft out of indicating position relatively to theshuttle, lock means tending normallyto move in a direction substantiallyparallel to the shuttle toa position to lock the contact member inindicating position but restrained from such movement by said contactmember when sufficient weft is present, and means effective upon weftexhaustion to move the contact member to indicating position and rendersaid -lock means effective -to move to a position to lock the contactmember against movement away from the indicating position.

4. In an electrically operating weft detecting shuttle a contact membermovable vertically in the shuttle and held by sufficient weft in downposition, lock means tending to move longitudinallyv of the shuttle to aposition under the contact member to lock the latter in raisedindicating position, the contact member preventing movement of the lockwhen suicient Weftis present, and means effective upon exhaustion ofweft to raise the contact member into indicating position, the lockthereupon being effective to move under the contact member and lock thesame in raised position.

5. In an electrically operating weft detecting shuttle a weft supportingspindle pivoted to the shuttle, a detecting element supported by andmovable relatively to the spindle, a contact member carried by theelement and held out of indicating position by a suicient supply ofweft, a yieldable lock to engage a part of the contact member tending tomove in a direction parallel to the spindle into holding relationrelatively thereto, and means effective upon exhaustion to move thecontact member into indicating position with respect to the shuttle, thelock thereupon moving to a position to support the contact member. l

6. In a loom, a shuttle having a supply of weft, a shuttle carriedcontact member held out of indicating position when suflicient weft'ispresent and movable relatively to the shuttle upon eX- haustion of weftto indicating position, a pair of oppositely charged electric detectorelectrodes mounted independently rof the shuttle, one of said electrodeshaving a part to engage the shuttle to prevent said one electrode fromengaging the contact member when the latter is out of indicatingposition, and both of said electrodes having parts to engage the contactmember when the latter is in indicating position, and means to move saidelectrodes toward the shuttle on detecting beats of the loom to engageeither the shuttle or the contact member depending upon the condition ofweft in the shuttle. Y

7. In alecm, a shuttle having a supply of weft, a pair of oppositelycharged electric detector electrodes mounted independently of theshuttle to be connected to effect a change in loom operation, a shuttlecarried contact member vfor the electrodes held in non-indicatingposition when sufncient Weftis present and movable relatively to theshuttle upon substantialgexhaustion of weft to indicating position, eachelectrode having a part to Contact with the contact member when thelatter is in indicating position and at least one of said electrodeshaving a part to Contact with the shuttle and be held out of engagementwith the contact member when the latter is in non-indicating position,and means to move said electrodes toward the shuttle and contact memberon detecting beats of the loom, said Contact member being the onlycurrent carrying part permanently connected to the shuttle. 8. In aloom, a shuttlehaving a supply of weft, a pair of oppcsitely chargedelectric detector electrodes mounted independently of the shuttle to beconnected to efect a change in loom operation, a shuttle carried contactmember for the electrodes held out of contacting relation With theelectrodes When suicient weft is present and movable relatively to theshuttle upon exhaustion of weft to a position to electrically connectsaid electrodes, and means to move the electrodes toward the contactmember and shuttle on detecting beats of the loom.

9. In an electrically operating weft detecting shuttle, a spindle on theshuttle to support a mass of weft, av detecting lever supported by and zmovable with respect to the spindle, a Weft detector contacting platecarried by the detecting lever, presence of sufficient weft effective tohold the Contact plate out of indicating position with respect to theshuttle, means to move thel contact plate into indicating positionrelatively to the shuttle upon substantial exhaustion of weft, and meansnormally urged against the plate in a direction substantially parallelto the spindle to thereafter prevent said contact plate from movingrelatively to the shuttle and away from indicating position.

10. In an electrically operating weft detecting shuttle, a contactmember carried by the shuttle and movable with respect thereto and heldby a suflicient supply of weft out of indicating relation with respectto the shuttle, means effective upon exhaustion of weft to move thecontact member relatively to the shuttle into indicating position, andmeans normally urged against the contact member in a directionlongitudinally of the shuttle and tending to move under said contactmember to lock the latter in indicating position.

RICHARD GREENLEAF TURNER.

